Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Price Target Raised to $155.00 at UBS Group

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $152.00 to $155.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the business services provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.23.

Paychex Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of PAYX traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $151.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 644,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,838. The stock has a market cap of $54.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $145.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $154.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,182,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 91.1% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 70,347 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,440,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 6.5% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 329,080 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,159,000 after purchasing an additional 20,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 151.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,761 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,310,000 after buying an additional 5,872 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.